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Regulators take aim at AI to protect consumers and workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — As concerns grow over increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, the nation’s financial watchdog says it’s working to ensure that companies follow the law when they’re using AI.Already, automated systems and algorithms help determine credit ratings, loan terms, bank account fees, and other aspects of our financial lives. AI also affects hiring, housing and working conditions.Ben Winters, Senior Counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said a joint statement on enforcement released by federal agencies last month was a positive first step.“There’s this narrative that AI is entirely unregulated, which is not really true,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘Just because you use AI to make a decision, that doesn’t mean you’re exempt from responsibility regarding the impacts of that decision.’ ‘This is our opinion on this. We’re watching.’”In the past year, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau said it has fined banks over mismanaged automat...

How a Fairfax Co. student’s pageant win made history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

Oakton High School sophomore Ashley Wang’s expectations for her first ever pageant were so low she said she didn’t tell any of her friends — she even forgot to tell her brother.The Fairfax County teen has been a competitive dancer since she was five years old. Back then, her mom’s friend recommended she try a pageant once she learned that Wang may want to try something different.While some other contestants had coaches or were practicing at home, Wang “just kind of went with the flow.”Wang, who is also a member of the Oakton dance team, made history last month, becoming the first Chinese American and second-ever Asian to be crowned Miss Virginia Teen USA. Now, she’ll compete nationally in the Miss Teen USA competition this fall.“When I was younger, I feel like I had no role models to look up to that were like me, Asian American, with similar struggles and experiences,” Wang said. “I’m just so happy that I can be that role m...

Muere una segunda persona por brote de meningitis asociado a cirugías en México, dicen los CDC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

(CNN) — En Estados Unidos se atribuyó una segunda muerte a un presunto brote de meningitis fúngica entre personas que se sometieron a cirugías bajo anestesia epidural en Matamoros, México, dicen los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés). Cientos de personas más podrían estar en riesgo, advierte la agencia.Los CDC y el Departamento Estatal de Servicios de Salud de Texas informaron la semana pasada que cinco residentes de ese estado habían enfermado, uno de ellos mortalmente, tras someterse a una intervención quirúrgica en el River Side Surgical Center o Clínica K-3 de Matamoros. En todas las intervenciones se aplicó la epidural, un anestésico que se inyecta en la zona que rodea la columna vertebral.La Secretaría de Salud de México envió a los CDC una lista de 221 pacientes estadounidenses que podrían estar en riesgo por haber sido intervenidos en estas clínicas entre el 1 de enero y el 13 de mayo, según la agencia estadounidense, y...

Holiday travelers can expect slight increase in gas prices, but relief compared to previous years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

Gas prices almost always tick up in the days ahead of Memorial Day, but this year, things aren’t that bad. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the national average for a gallon of gas is only up four cents from last week. This slight increase in prices comes despite the increased demand for fuel as more people embark on Memorial Day road trips.While the surge in travel has undoubtedly put pressure on gas prices, there is some relief for motorists. The current average of$3.55 per gallon is actually eight cents less than it was a month ago, offering a silver lining for those hitting the roads during the holiday weekend.Compared to the same time last year, drivers will find themselves paying over a dollar less per gallon. This significant drop in prices is a result of various factors, including improved oil production, increased supply, and lower global demand during the pandemic. As a result, travelers can expect some savings when filling up their tanks this ...

EU and Pfizer renegotiate controversial vaccine contract

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

The European Commission and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer have renegotiated a massive contract for COVID-19 vaccine doses that the EU entered into at the height of the pandemic.The Commission announced that the two parties had agreed Pfizer would spread out deliveries over the course of the next four years, into 2027, and to reduce the total amount of doses down from the 450 million that were due to be delivered this year. However, the Commission didn’t disclose the new total in its announcement. When asked by POLITICO about the revised delivery figure, Commission Health Spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker referred POLITICO to EU member countries for a response. “Vaccine strategies or vaccine programs are designed and implemented by the member states,” said de Keersmaecker. The Commission had previously obtained a number of concessions from Pfizer, but these always stopped short of a reduction in doses.The financial terms of the deal are also not public, but the...

Iran releases Belgian aid worker in prisoner swap

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

Iran has released Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian humanitarian worker who has been detained in Iran for more than a year, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a statement Friday.“Olivier Vandecasteele is on his way to Belgium,” De Croo said. “If all goes as planned, he will be with us tonight.”A Belgian official confirmed to POLITICO that one individual was on his way to Iran as part of a prisoner swap. According to Belgian public broadcaster RTBF, the individual in question is an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison by an Antwerp court in 2021 for plotting a bomb attack against a rally organized by Iranian dissidents near Paris.Belgium and Iran have been negotiating for months over a controversial bilateral treaty which would allow Iranians convicted in Belgium to serve their sentence in Iran, and vice versa.The deal was approved by Belgium’s highest court in March, paving the way for the prisone...

Investigation underway after armed person fatally shot by police in Manchester, NH

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

Authorities are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting in Manchester, New Hampshire on Friday, officials said.Officers responding to a report of a person armed with a firearm at 1143 Mammoth Road around 3:25 a.m. found the armed person outside of the home, according to the attorney general’s office. During the ensuing encounter, multiple Manchester police officers discharged their firearms.Life-saving measures were attempted, but the armed resident was shot and has died. The identity of that individual is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. An autopsy has been scheduled for later today.Pursuant to protocol, the names of the officers involved in the incident are being withheld pending the conclusion of formal interviews. The initial responding officers had body-worn cameras.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

New surveillance video shows sidewalk shootout in Roxbury as city leaders speak out about recent incidents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

Boston city leaders spoke out Thursday after an uptick in violence that included three shootings in three days this week.On the same day that the family of a man killed in a recent shooting shared details about their loved one’s life, Commissioner Michael Cox and Mayor Michelle Wu also discussed efforts to curb the violence.“We’re here and we care,” Cox said. “From our perspective, people need to understand this is a safe city. We can be safer with the public’s help.”On Wednesday, surveillance video captured the moment shots rang out along a sidewalk close to a liquor store on Shawmut Avenue in Roxbury. In one angle, a man is seen walking up the street with his hands in his pockets. Video then shows the man pulling out a gun and opening fire into a crowd of people, narrowly missing one man. Another man is later seen coming out of a building and shooting back. A second angle shows people scrambling to safety, with one young girl at one point ducking behind a car as bullets fly.T...

Sunshine Settles In

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

What. A. Stretch! Sunny skies set up shop across New England through the Holiday weekend, providing a fantastic kick-off to the unofficial start of summer. With that said, it doesn’t quite feel like summer this morning as temps start off on the chilly side with many locations in the upper 30s and 40s. The bounce back is nice this afternoon though with highs in the low 70s inland and low 60s at the coast thanks to the sea breeze. The UV index is very high today, and stays that way through the weekend. It’ll be cool again tonight with lows falling into the 40s for many under a clear sky. Full on sunshine is with us again tomorrow and the warm-up is quick as highs head for near 80 and 65-70 at the beaches with sea breezes kicking in. Sunday, we’ll add another 5 degrees, pushing numbers in the mid 80s away from the coast and 65-75 at the beaches. A cold front does slide through Memorial Day, but it’s starved of moisture, so other than a few clouds and a wind cha...

Boston Memorial Day weekend: 37,369 flags honor heroes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:21 GMT

Around Boston thousands of flags and displays are already up for Memorial Day, heralding a busy holiday weekend and explosion of travel heading into the start of the summer season.“As we head into Memorial Day weekend, there are events all across the city and in each one of our neighborhoods and lots of spaces where people are coming together,” said Mayor Michelle Wu, standing in front of hundreds of volunteers planting flags in the Boston Common this week.The planting of 37,369 flags — one for every fallen Massachusetts soldier since the Revolutionary War — around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Common and the following event honoring the families of the soldiers started off Boston’s Memorial Day activities.“We’re just thrilled to be able to gather again, do the traditions that folks come to know and love from Memorial Day,” said Diane Nealon, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund.Going into the holiday weekend, the city is set ...